Chapter 229 Leaders Can Be Enthusiastic
The rustic white porcelain pillow is like a key, unlocking the door to deep memories.
Scenes from long ago flashed by, one after another, like a revolving lantern.
On the main wall of the hall hangs a portrait of Mr. Xu Bangda. In the center is a long table, on which is laid a landscape painting that is only half-finished.
Lin Sicheng used both hands, sketching with one stroke and rendering with the other.
Before the long table, Shan Guoqiang (a researcher at the Palace Museum, who studied under the master of calligraphy and painting Xu Bangda) held a ruler behind his back. Beside him, Old Mrs. Wang leaned back in her chair with her eyes closed, holding a steaming purple clay teapot in her arms.
Lin Sicheng was painting intently when the old lady opened her eyes and suddenly seemed to remember something: "Old Dan, do you still remember that porcelain pillow that Emperor Qianlong inscribed a poem on?"
"Did Emperor Qianlong write a poem about the Ding kiln child-shaped pillow that you were referring to, senior sister?"
"No, it's the goblet in the Hall of Mental Cultivation."
"Oh, Ding ware with pearl-ground carved decoration!"
"It's not Ding ware. Emperor Qianlong made a mistake. The Cultural Relics Bureau just issued a briefing yesterday, saying it was fired in some kiln in Yuncheng, Shanxi. It wasn't made using the sgraffito technique, but rather carved and painted designs."
Shan Guoqiang was taken aback for a moment: "What did Emperor Qianlong know about Ding kilns and Shanxi kilns? If there's a mistake, it's the Imperial Household Department's!"
The old lady smiled and said, "Anyway, it was a mistake... The briefing said that new sites dating from the Northern Song to the Ming Dynasty have been discovered in Shanxi. There are four workshops from the Song and Jin periods alone, more than thirty abandoned porcelain pits, more than a thousand complete pieces have been unearthed, and even more fragments, numbering in the tens of thousands..."
"Besides white porcelain with black engravings, there are also white celadon glaze and sancai pottery pillows that were exclusively tribute to the imperial family since the Northern Song Dynasty... I remember the National Museum has a lot of them in its collection. They used to be said to be from Ding kiln and Cizhou kiln, but they weren't..."
"Shanxi produced Song Dynasty porcelain, and it was even tribute porcelain?" Shan Guoqiang asked with surprise. "It might even be selected as one of this year's top archaeological discoveries..."
"Definitely. There are only a handful of complete Song and Jin dynasty porcelain kiln sites. I've heard that this one is exceptionally well-preserved and can completely reconstruct the Song and Jin dynasty porcelain-making process..."
"Wow, that's a sure thing!"
A tribute kiln has been discovered in Shanxi; is it going to be selected as a national archaeological discovery?
That's strange...
Lin Sicheng, caught off guard, stopped writing. But as soon as he raised his wrist, a ruler struck his hand.
With a "smack," Lin Sicheng winced in pain.
The pen tip trembled involuntarily, scattering a spray of ink.
Oh no, all that week's work is wasted?
"Tear it up and redraw it!" Shan Guoqiang sneered. "I didn't say you couldn't listen, but who told you to stop?"
Lin Sicheng gave an awkward smile, then lowered his head and crumpled the ruined painting into a ball.
The old lady hugged the purple clay teapot and chuckled.
What year was that?
2016.
Seeing him staring at the porcelain pillow without moving, Wang Qizhi coughed softly.
Lin Sicheng suddenly realized what was happening.
He had only glanced at the porcelain pillow with the inscription in the Hall of Mental Cultivation, so he only had a vague impression of it.
Even when the two gentlemen were talking about it, he was just curious and didn't specifically look into it.
So, if I hadn't come across this bottle, I might not have remembered it.
But what does it mean to have the pillow that Emperor Qianlong slept on?
He even wrote a poem on it and had the craftsmen engrave his calligraphy on it, which shows how much he liked it.
But that's secondary; the main point is what the old lady said.
Previously, it was generally accepted in academic and historical circles that Shanxi had never produced famous porcelain.
There are actually quite a few ancient kiln sites excavated in Shanxi, including those from the Song and Jin dynasties, such as the Huozhou Kiln, Pingyang Kiln, Yuci Kiln, Huairen Kiln, Changzhi Kiln, Pingding Kiln, and so on. However, they are all civilian porcelain, not even remotely related to famous porcelain.
That's great, not only do we have it, but it's also tribute porcelain.
More importantly, the excavated sites lack a complete industrial chain and cannot form a corresponding relationship. To put it bluntly: either there is no clay-making site, no glazing site, or no temperature measuring equipment was unearthed.
If porcelain is being made, these things must exist. The problem is that they haven't been discovered, no related relics have been unearthed, and the supporting materials are incomplete, making it impossible to conduct systematic research.
But the old lady said that this discovery can completely restore the porcelain-making process of the Song and Jin dynasties, making this the first complete porcelain kiln site complex from the Song and Jin periods in Shanxi.
And new formulas, new processes, new technologies...
One, two, three, four, five—if you have just one of these, you might be a contender for one of the top ten archaeological discoveries in the country that year, let alone having all five.
Mr. Shan was right, it's a done deal...
With a sigh, Lin Sicheng put down the porcelain pillow: "Two bosses, name your price!"
The two were very polite: "Teacher Lin, just give me whatever you think is appropriate!"
I understand. It must have been something that Lao Zhuang had told me beforehand.
But this isn't about finding a bargain; it's a serious matter, so we should still take the necessary precautions.
Lin Sicheng glanced around and said without hesitation, "These two are friends of President Zhuang. He's going to do them a favor and build relationships, so he can't just give them whatever he wants. Here's the arrangement: 800,000... Boheng, take these two bosses to transfer the money."
The two men were taken aback for a moment, then Lin Sicheng smiled and said, "Of course, business is business, we need to sign a contract!"
Zhao Xiuneng and Wang Qizhi exchanged a glance but remained silent.
If we're only talking about antique collectibles, these items on the table certainly aren't worth 800,000. Take, for example, the most eye-catching piece among them—the delicate white porcelain bowl:
Even if it's Song Dynasty porcelain, even if the craftsmanship is good, it's still from an unknown small folk kiln, and you might not even know where the kiln is located. At most, it would cost 100,000 to 200,000 yuan.
The rest of these, at most, amount to one or two hundred thousand, adding them all up, a maximum of four hundred thousand.
But from the perspective of restoration craftsmanship, it's definitely worth it. They can at least determine that this bowl is absolutely made using the new technique Lin Sicheng described…
The two shop owners looked puzzled: they had initially thought they'd be lucky to sell it for two or three hundred thousand. But at the last minute, they were offered eight hundred thousand?
Looking down again, it was indeed the same stuff; they couldn't even sell it for 200,000 before...
The two men looked at Zhuang Zijing again. Just as Zhuang Zijing was about to speak, Lin Sicheng waved his hand and said, "President Zhuang, favors are favors, but the gifts are definitely worth it."
Zhuangzi Jing suddenly understood.
The key point is the middle sentence: Human relationships are human relationships, but we must take precautions to prevent problems from arising in the first place.
Although these two were not professional collectors, they had spent half their lives in the business world, and as soon as they heard that a contract was to be signed, they knew that the items they brought were very valuable.
Trying to give another 100,000 or 200,000 to appease them is like treating people like fools. This deal might just fall apart today. It's better to pay in full upfront.
So how useful must this pile of junk be that Lin Sicheng was willing to spend an extra 500,000 to 600,000 yuan just to buy a contract?
Although they had their doubts, they figured 800,000 yuan was more than enough to cover their losses. The two bosses beamed with joy, signed the contract on the spot, and Zhao Da led them to transfer the money.
After everyone left, Zhuang Zijing looked at the porcelain on the table with a suspicious expression: "Teacher Lin, we didn't lose money, did we?"
How could I possibly pay out?
Lin Sicheng grasped Zhuang Zijing's hand: "President Zhuang, I won't lie to you, several of these pieces are Song Dynasty porcelain. Although they're from small folk kilns, each piece is still worth two or three hundred thousand yuan, so I want to thank President Zhuang, and even more so, I want to thank the old President Zhuang..."
He paused for a moment, then smiled and said, "It might take a few more days of your trouble!"
Zhuang Zijing nodded repeatedly: Fang Jingxian explained Lin Sicheng's personality clearly and distinctly: if you treat him with respect, he will repay you tenfold.
The more you help Lin Sicheng now, the greater the rewards will be in the future…
"Don't worry, Teacher Lin, there are definitely more places like Yongji! I'm not going anywhere else; I'll stay in Yongji and help you make connections..."
"It's not Yongji, it's Hejin!"
Lin Sicheng said solemnly, "These porcelain pieces were all fired using porcelain clay from Guzhen. Even though the kiln site is in Xipo Town, Xiangning County, Xipo belonged to Hejin County before the founding of the People's Republic of China. Therefore, Hejin definitely had more than here..."
"Furthermore, I deduce that there should be kiln sites in Hejin as well, and I plan to look for them. Therefore, I would like to ask Mr. Zhuang to help me make contact with the Municipal Bureau of Culture and even the Municipal Government to provide as much assistance as possible..."
It doesn't matter where you go, as long as it helps Lin Sicheng, Zhuang Zijing readily agreed.
Wang Qizhi and Zhao Xiuneng looked on with suspicion: What, do we have to find a kiln site again?
Just the day before yesterday, they said they weren't going to look for him anymore.
After seeing the two siblings off, just as the two were about to ask, Lin Sicheng picked up the delicate white porcelain bowl: "Teacher, Senior Brother Zhao, this is a new technique!"
Yes, it's a new process.
Lin Sicheng had mentioned it before, but the porcelain shards he had collected earlier weren't very obvious, so Zhao Xiuneng and Wang Qizhi could only rely on their imagination.
Now that they have this bowl, the two have a more direct understanding: without a new technique, such a light white-blue glaze cannot be produced.
The key is its extreme thinness. Even among the five famous kilns of the Song Dynasty, this was extremely rare, given the level of porcelain making in the Song Dynasty.
But as I said before: no matter how new the technology is, even if there are kiln sites, they are all buried under the porcelain clay mines and Zisha ware factories. How can you find them, and even if you find them, how can you dig them out?
Seeing the two looking completely bewildered, Lin Sicheng slapped his forehead: "It's my fault for not explaining clearly... Teacher, Senior Brother Zhao, this is egg white jade from the Northern Song Dynasty. Let me be frank: it's highly likely that the kiln site is in Hejin!"
Both of them were startled. Wang Qizhi was still trying to recall what kind of porcelain egg white jade was, while Zhao Xiuneng's eyes bulged out.
What is egg white jade?
Specifically refers to white porcelain from the Song Dynasty, which is as thin as an eggshell, translucent when light shines through it, and as white as jade with a slight bluish tinge.
It is impossible to determine which kiln developed it, but all five famous kilns have produced it. However, the success rate was extremely low, so very few pieces have survived to this day.
After the fall of the Southern Song Dynasty, the craft was lost.
Then, in the early Ming Dynasty, the Ministry of Works' Yuheng Qingli Division (responsible for industrial research) and the Imperial Kiln jointly restored it. The famous Yongle sweet white glaze semi-molded wares, Xuande and Chenghua eggshell cups, and chicken cups all originated from this technique.
Then, in the early Wanli period, Jingdezhen porcelain master Hao Shijiu, striving for perfection, went a step further and developed an even more exquisite egg-shaped cup with thinner porcelain walls.
How thin is it?
Just half a millimeter, when illuminated, it resembles the inner membrane of an eggshell.
Even fewer of these exist; not even the National Palace Museums on either side of the Taiwan Strait have them.
But here, suddenly a Song Dynasty egg-white jade bowl appears?
No wonder Lin Sicheng paid 800,000 without even thinking about it.
Zhao Xiuneng picked up the bowl, turning it over and over, his eyes shining: "If this thing were auctioned, even if its provenance couldn't be found, it could probably fetch two or three million."
"The monetary value is secondary; it's the craftsmanship!" Wang Qizhi exclaimed in shock. "Does that mean the origin of the technique for making eggshell-white jade might very well be in Hejin?"
If this were to happen here, the ceramics industry would be in an uproar.
Lin Sicheng shook his head violently: "It is inferred that the egg white jade craftsmanship originated from the Chai kiln of the Zhou Dynasty and the Bianjing official kiln of the Northern Song Dynasty, but no physical artifacts have been unearthed."
Therefore, strictly speaking, this bowl alone can definitely be considered a new discovery and a new technique, and it is very likely that it was ahead of its two neighboring bowls of the same period.
New discovery, new technology, and ahead of Ding kiln and Cizhou kiln of the same period... With this, why would you need Chengni inkstone?
The leaders of Shanxi will probably be ecstatic when that happens.
Zhao Xiuneng and Wang Qizhi perked up: "You said the kiln site is in Hejin... How did you determine that?"
“We’ve collected quite a few samples these past few days. It’s quite obvious that the technology at the Xipo Ancient Kiln in the Song Dynasty wasn’t this advanced. They probably couldn’t have fired this kind of eggshell-white jade… Teacher, Senior Brother Zhao, take a look at this one…”
Lin Sicheng pointed to the fragment of the carved tricolor pillow: "This piece is made of earthenware. If it were fired in Xipo, it should have used Xipo clay, which is more suitable for firing pottery. But this piece is still made of Guzhen porcelain clay, so I conclude that the kiln site is in the Guzhen area..."
Wang Qizhi and Zhao Xiuneng exchanged a glance: It seems to make some sense.
But what if this is just an isolated case?
However, neither of them said anything, nor did they ask any further questions.
Lin Sicheng knew it was a bit far-fetched, but for the time being, it was the most plausible reason he could think of.
You can't exactly tell these two that he suddenly had a breakthrough in his mind, can you?
If Lin Sicheng were asked to recall, his memory would indeed be very vague; he couldn't even remember where in the Forbidden City he had seen the porcelain pillow.
But upon seeing this vessel on the table, memories flooded back like a burst dam: In 2016, the Hejin Ancient Kiln was discovered in Yuncheng, Shanxi.
Back then, it was selected as one of the top ten archaeological discoveries in China.
In 2021, the National Museum of China held a special exhibition for three months: Relics of Longmen, Archaeological Achievements of Hejin Kiln in Shanxi.
Prior to this, the Shanxi Institute of Archaeology, in conjunction with the State Administration of Cultural Heritage, had been excavating for five years, which shows how large the site was and how many discoveries were made.
The kiln site is located in Hejin, in Guzhen.
Lin Sicheng was also quite certain that the site was most likely not in the mining area, or at least not on the porcelain clay vein.
The reason is simple: from the Song Dynasty to the Ming Dynasty, the porcelain clay near the kiln site had long been exhausted. Even if a major earthquake occurred that is not recorded in historical records, it wouldn't have been enough to move another mine to the site and bury the entire ruins.
Therefore, it has virtually no impact on the excavation...
"Teacher, I'll have to trouble you to contact the school again and resend the letter, this time directly to the Hejin Municipal Government..."
"I'll contact the Municipal Cultural Relics Bureau to see if we can send a survey team to provide technical assistance..."
"Senior brother, could you please ask President Zhuang to do some legwork? Treat them to meals if necessary, give them gifts if appropriate, and try to smooth things over as much as possible..."
Zhao Xiuneng half-jokingly said, "Doing good deeds for them means we have to give them gifts?"
"It's alright, a little money won't make a difference..." Lin Sicheng smiled. "Sharpening the axe won't delay the work of chopping wood!"
If we can find the kiln site, all our previous efforts will be rewarded a hundredfold or a thousandfold.
Moreover, there is also the white jade: the Ministry of Light Industry and Jingdezhen started planning it after the founding of the People's Republic of China, but now, fifty or sixty years later, not to mention restoration, not even a single clue has been found.
And how many bowls like these are buried beneath the kiln sites in Guzhen?
It doesn't need many; with just a hundred or so fragments, Lin Sicheng could deduce it...
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